Raising a concern with your Early Years setting

Raising a concern with your child’s nursery or preschool about gender stereotypes can feel awkward. We’ve pulled together some advice and ideas.

Whether your child attends a nursery, a childminder, a Children’s Centre or any other Early Years setting, all good quality settings try to provide a safe, happy and inclusive environment for your child. Many are receptive to parents’ ideas and want to listen to suggestions of how they might improve.

If you do need to get in touch with your child’s setting, here are some ideas:

Think about how you want to raise the issue, and with whom. The manager may be the best person to approach as they are more likely to be able to influence changes within the setting. A friendly e-mail with brief details of what you would like to discuss will give them time to think about your concerns and how they might improve. You might suggest a follow-up conversation in person or over the phone.

Explain why you think it’s important. There are some ideas in our Why it Matters page. You may want to link your concerns to the EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage), the Equality Act, British Values curricula or Ofsted expectations of gender equality.

If your concern is about a specific incident – explain what you understand to have happened and allow space for context or additional information. Even if there’s none that adequately explains what happened, this will keep the tone constructive. If you’re raising questions about language or activities that the staff member hasn’t previously considered it can help to allow space for reflection.

If you have general concerns – you could also ask to see a copy of the setting’s equality policy.